Merchandise carts are used, for example, in shopping malls and it has already been proposed to motorize them to make them easier to handle. In fact, such carts are frequently required to transport heavy and bulky merchandise which makes them difficult to handle.
For example, FR-A-2 591 179 and FR-A-2 604 662 contain descriptions of motorization systems for merchandise carts which comprise storage means for direct current electrical power connected via power supply control means to the motorization means associated with at least two wheels of the cart. EP 711698 describes a transport and distribution vehicle constituted of a chassis composed of side frames and cross pieces and equipped with a steering device comprised of an arched piece with handles which is supported on the ground by an axle bearing two rear, nonsteerable wheels and by two front wheels that can be steered independently of each other. One of the wheels of the bogie is driven by an electric motor to which it is connected by a power supply from a power source controlled by a progressively adjustable control device.
French Patent FR 2521923 describes a road vehicle with electric motor control with at least two driven wheels, with one electric motor control group per driven wheel respectively, a group of batteries and a control unit, the electric motor control groups being able to function with a high starting torque and enabling, by means of the control unit, switching between the starting state and the various speeds. The electric motor control groups are composed respectively of one or more series motors which, for starting and for city driving, can be coupled in series by means of the control unit. For rapid driving, at least one of the series motors can be coupled in parallel by means of the control unit. French Patent FR 1408705 describes another motor vehicle system.
However, in those cases, the motorization means associated with the two wheels of the cart have a single electric motor the output shaft of which is linked via a differential to the corresponding wheels of this car. It is known that this presents a certain number of drawbacks, especially at the level of the complexity of this structure. This, it is an object of the invention to resolve these problems.